Monday, June 29, 2009

Rev. Bob L. England will be the evangelist for this year's Chandler Interdenominational Holiness Camp in August of this year.Special music will be provided nightly by our member churches. This camp has a history dating back several decades. The camp has a history as an outdoor camp, with services being held inside at Chandler Church of the Nazarene adjacent to the campground when temperatures get into the unbearable range. Wesleyan, Nazarene, and Free Methodist churches have participated over the years. This year, at our spring indoor camp, we welcomed Faith Free Will Baptist Church of Chandler, Indiana. We hope to see them again in August of this year.

Rev. England or Bro. Bob to those who know him is currently pastoring at Paoli Wesleyan Church, and is currently serving as Assistant District Superintendant for the Indiana South District of The Wesleyan church. He also coordinates the ministerial training and seminars for the district. He also conducts revivals and campmeetings in his spare time.He has pastored churches throughout southern Indiana including Boonville. He and his wife Vivian reside in the rural Paoli area. You can read his personal testimony by clicking here: www.indianasouth.org/bob_england_testimony.html Last year we had an indoor campmeeting in the spring, a youth camp coordinated by Kaleb Kanopta and others at Chandler Nazarene Church, a Camp member. We hope to do so again this year. I will be posting more information as it becomes available...keith 1 Cor 13

Friday, June 19, 2009

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Just a quick note to say, "Happy 306th Birthday" to John Wesley! - Wesley was born on June 17, 1703 to the Rev'd. Samuel & Susanna Wesley. He was either the 13th or 14th of their children; no one is quite sure. In any case, he was only the seventh to survive the first year of life. Oddly, he was the third Wesley child to be named "John" (the previous two had died). (cf. The Elusive Mr. Wesley, Vol. 1, Heitzenrater).

Monday, June 15, 2009

Weekly Commentary-How much is a Life Worth?by Keith Kiper/from"The Circuit Rider"A comparison was made last Monday between the assassination of Martin Luther King and the murder of late-term abortion provider Dr. George. Tiller has one relative of the slain civil rights leader outraged. Dr. Alveda King, a notable pro-life advocate and Martin Luther King's niece, lashed out to The Washington Times about comments made by Dr. Tiller's friend and colleague, Dr. LeRoy Carhart. What's next? Comparing Adolf Hitler with Abraham Lincoln? Martin Luther King, Jr. campaigned for equal rights for African- Americans. Surprising to some, the greatest resistance came from the Democratic Party who resisted anti-lynching and other laws until the mid 60's when Lyndon Johnson had to reach to the Republican Party for enough votes to pass his famous Civil Rights legislation.(Hard to believe,Click here to read in Democrat's and Republican's own words)This in ironic, considering that some African-Americans would not even consider EVER voting Republican.

I realize that no party or candidate is perfect, and as some would say, "I just vote for the man."However, in this day of lobbyists and political party payoffs, there are only a few good men (and women) left. After all, we have seen some of the "Blue Dogs" turn yellow for Nancy Pelosi in recent weeks. Back to the Tiller/King comparison. Tiller snuffed out the life , by his own admission, of some 60,000 lives, more than the entire Viet Nam war. He often used the mental health exception as a ruse for his "practice." Dr. King risked his own life to better the lives of others. Not much similarity or sacrifice there. Tiller and others have made millions with the government sanctioned practice of infanticide. A large percentage of the abortions were performed on African-American women. Some would consider this to be a modern form of racism. We live in a day and age when there seem to some to be a lot of gray areas. They probably haven't read the same Bible I have read. Look at what 2 Peter Chapter two has to say,"Many will follow their sensuality and because of them the way of truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words..."2 Peter 2,3 (NASB)

I don't write these commentaries in an effort to promote or condemn a particular political party. Unfortunately, there are more differences than there used to be. A Christian should pray about this and seek God's guidance. Galations tells us,"It is fine to be zealous as long as the purpose is good."Jesus commands us to shed light where there is darkness. As John wesley said about slavery, we can apply to the sanctity of life,"Where in the justice of inflicting the severist of evils on those who have done us no wrong?" There are many resources available. Just check out the left hand column of this blog. What do you think? Your comments and differing points of view are always welcome and will not be criticized here. I'll close with Father Frank Pavone's Prayer for Life.

Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life,And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion,Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son.I am ready to do my part in ending abortion.Today I commit myselfNever to be silent,Never to be passive,Never to be forgetful of the unborn.I commit myself to be active in the Pro-Life movement,And never to stop defending lifeUntil all my brothers and sisters are protected,And our nation once again becomes A nation with liberty and justiceNot just for some, but for all,Through Christ our Lord. Amen!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

This month, we released an eye-opening new book (see the cover at right) that we ask you to symbolically nail on the door of churches, Christian colleges, and seminaries across America.

From your history classes, you may recall that in 1517, a young monk, Martin Luther, boldly nailed 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. He was calling the church back to the authority of the Bible and away from the opinions and traditions of fallible man.

Four years later, Luther stood before the emperor, princes, and others in the Bishop’s Palace in Worms, Germany, where he was told to recant his theses and books. The next day, after a long night of prayer and counsel, Luther famously replied that he would not recant unless it could be shown from the Scriptures that he was in error. He is then reported to have said:

Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me. Amen.

This month marks a milestone in the Answers in Genesis ministry. In the book Already Gone, you will learn about a major research study that we believe could help lead to a revolution—another reformation, if you will—for a desperately needed transformation of the church in America.

For years, we have been challenging the church to stand without compromise on the authority of God’s Word, beginning in Genesis. We have insisted that Christians should be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11: “They received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”

Similarly, we have been encouraging Christians to be like Martin Luther, who stood before the authorities of his day and insisted that we judge our beliefs against the absolute authority of the Word of God—regardless of what the majority might say (e.g., scientists of today who hold to evolution and millions of years).

In this newsletter and in my lectures over the years, I have insisted that Christians who compromise by accepting the idea of an earth supposedly millions of years old (or who are indifferent to whether or not that is even a problem) have greatly contributed to the decline of the church and its influence. Most churches lack apologetics teaching for their young people (and their adults, for that matter). As a result, a very significant number of young people are leaving the church—and thus the decline of the influence of Christianity in this nation continues.

To help understand why millions of young adults have already left the church of their youth, a generous supporter of Answers in Genesis offered to fund a major research effort through America’s Research Group. (ARG is headed by the highly respected secular market researcher Britt Beemer, a frequent guest on national TV news programs.)

Britt’s company composed survey questions to find out why so many young adults are being lost from the church . . . plus why Christians are not having the influence on the culture that they once had (and thus why we are ultimately losing the “culture war” in America).

The results will shock you—and shock the church as a whole.

For example, our national survey discovered that children who grew up in evangelical homes are being “lost” from the church as early as elementary school, not primarily in college (as most might expect). Furthermore—in one of the biggest and most distressing surprises of the research—something you might call the “Sunday school syndrome” is contributing to the epidemic!

Already Gone is an alarming wake-up call for the church, because it reports on Britt Beemer’s research and shows how church programs and approaches to Christian education are failing—and thus millions of our young people are leaving the church. While the research statistics reveal the root issues of a huge problem, Already Gone shows how to fight back and reclaim our families, our churches, and our society for biblical truths.

I urge you to read the book and absorb its findings, and please encourage many others to do so as well. (By the way, it is a “quick read.”) And then I plead with you not to stop there. I believe that once you understand what the researchers have uncovered, you will be motivated to symbolically nail Already Gone on the doors of churches and Christian organizations. We need many “Luthers”—many Answers in Genesis supporters—nailing this book on church doors throughout America.

As we finished writing this book, I knew that it could bring a tidal wave of disbelief and frustration from those who don’t want to accept its findings. But I couldn’t help but exclaim from the bottom of my heart:

Here we stand; we can do no other.

May God help us reach the church with a crucial message of reformation—and may God raise up generations in the church who will stand on His Word and be the salt and light that this culture so desperately needs.

Please pray with me, that through resources like Already Gone, we’ll see a new reformation in the American church.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Anyone who knows me very well should be familiar with my stand on abortion and those who perform them. This practice is a blight on what we would call "civilized" society with the blessings of our highest court. It should be noted that these courts do not honor the will of the people in most of these cases. Our President wants us to find "common ground" in keeping abortion legal while trying to reduce abortions. That's kind of like asking a drowning man if he wants a drink of water.

One would have to be a hermit to miss all the media coverage when the late term abortionist, Dr. George Tiller was killed while ushering in his church recently. Tiller was responsible by his own admission of performing some 60,000late term abortions at his "practice". That's more people than those who died in the entire Viet Nam war. The media consistently used the words late term in their reports. Let's be clear about this. What they were describing was the practice of partial birth abortion, a practice so cruel and bizarre that I won't describe it here. Tiller had faced charges in court over his practices, but thanks to limp wristed judges and juries, they were dismissed.

Do I think we should take the law into our hands as Tiller's killer recently did? Absolutely not. A just God will judge those one day for their actions against his children. Genesis 9:6 tells us,"Whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man." (NKJV)Actions like this set put a black mark upon all the recent progress made by pro-life groups. Dr. Tiller's actions were wrong, but so were his killer's. God valued Dr. Tiller's life as much as the some 60,000 partially born babies he killed. God always has the final say. Sometimes we bring judgement upon ourselves in this life time, as Ezekiel 35:6 tells us,"therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you."(NKJV)

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Multiple nominations for "Gospel Group of the Year" by the Society of Preservation of Bluegrass in America

Performance at the Ryman Theater

Nominated for Two Dove Awards

Bluegrass Gospel Album of the year (2005)

Bluegrass Song of the year (2007)

"The Churchmen are one of the fastest growing,hottest new sounds in Bluegrass Gospel Music today. We have worked with these guys a lot, and they really live what they sing." Jeff and Sheri EasterFor more information about the Churchmen, or to listen to samples of their music, click here:www.thechurchmen.com/

Friday, June 5, 2009

This past Sunday the Church celebrated the culmination of the great fifty days, the conclusion of the Easter season, the outpouring of the promise of the Father, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the birth of the Church. - John the Baptizer had declared concerning Jesus, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Luke 3:16, NRSV).Jesus assured the disciples that it would be to their advantage that He would ascend to the Father, because, in doing so, He would send the Holy Spirit (the Advocate/Comforter/Counselor/Helper - parakletos ) to them (John 16:7). The Holy Spirit would teach them everything and remind them of all that Jesus had said to them (14:26), and the Holy Spirit would "prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement (16:8).Further, Jesus told the apostles, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8, NRSV).On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples saw the fulfillment of the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit as told by John the Baptizer and the Lord Jesus, as well as the prophet Joel.It is that same outpouring of the Holy Spirit that we enter into by faith and through our baptism, for St. Paul declares, "For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body . . ." (1 Cor. 12:13, NRSV).*Pentecost is one of the major feast days of the Church, and it should be a great day of celebration for those of us in the Wesleyan/Holiness tradition. - I recall a conversation a number of years back with a Presbyterian (USA) pastor. He confessed, he really didn't know what to do with Pentecost. Now, I do not mean to imply that such is the case for all, or even a majority of Presbyterians. I don't know. However, Nazarenes, whether espousing a 19th century or a classical Wesleyan view (cf. footnote, below) ought to have no problem knowing how to celebrate Pentecost Sunday.You see, one of the main benefits of Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the possibility of having our hearts cleansed of sin. - As the prophet Ezekiel foretold, there was coming a day when God would ". . . sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statures and be careful to observe my ordinances" (Ezek. 36:25-27, NRSV). And St. Peter, referring to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the gentiles, argued, "And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us" (Acts 15:8-9).It is this heart cleansing that has been at the heart (no pun intended!) of the Wesleyan & Methodist movement, and especially so for the Holiness branches of Methodism. It has been referred to by Wesley in connection with the Biblical doctrines of Entire Sanctification and Christian Perfection. In fact, the spread of scriptural holiness throughout the land was the stated purpose of Methodism, first by John Wesley in London in 1733, and then in America, at the famous Christmas Conference in Baltimore in 1784 at the founding of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was the commitment to this purpose that gave rise to the 19th century Holiness Movement within Methodism. And Phineas Bresee said of the Church of the Nazarene, that it is ". . . a part of that body of believers raised up to spread sanctified holiness over these lands, and thus that we are a part of that company who are the real successors of John Wesley and the early Methodists" (Nazarene Messenger, July 15, 1909).And so, we Wesleyan Christians have special reasons for joining with our sisters and brother in Christ around the world to rejoice and give thanks to God on Pentecost Sunday for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as we seek to worship God in Spirit and in Truth._____________________________*At this point, those within the Holiness movement will recognize that I take my stand with John Wesley, the Church of history, and those in the classical Wesleyan theological tradition, rather than those who are more consistent with 19th century interpretations. Those debates within the Holiness Movement can be seen in The Wesleyan Theological Journal between 1973 and 1982. Mark Quanstrom discusses it in A Century of Holiness Theology: The Doctrine of Entire Sanctification in the Church of the Nazarene, 1905-2004, though his bias toward the 19th century view is apparent in his, not always completely accurate portrayal of members of "The Trevecca Connection."

Thursday, June 4, 2009

A Pro-Life ‘Jihad?’Tuesday, June 02, 2009By L. Brent Bozell III In the very heart of the pro-life community, there is nothing they wanted less than another shooting of an abortionist. An unhinged vigilante’s shooting of notorious Kansas late-term abortion “provider” George Tiller prompted an avalanche of press releases from pro-life groups denouncing the killing.

Why bother? Let’s face it. The national media had zero interest in spotlighting a pro-life spokesman expressing horror, because let’s face it, they don’t believe it. Instead, as with ABC, they found anonymous citizens on the website Twitter saying “Oh, happy, day. Tiller the baby killer is dead." Another wrote, "God bless the gunman."

It was time for a barrage of liberal mudslinging. Keith Olbermann started his MSNBC program with these words: “A religious jihad by fundamentalist crusaders who believe that murder is justified, their acts of violence having the intended effect of changing behavior. Our fifth story on the Countdown: Not the Taliban, not Hamas, not al Qaeda.”

He was referring to conservative politicians and bloggers and the Fox News Channel. Olbermann insisted there was a “straight line” of culpability from Fox News to the Tiller shooter.

He played clips of O’Reilly disparaging Tiller: “For 5,000 dollars, Tiller, the baby killer, as some call him, will perform a late-term abortion for just about any reason.” And: “Tiller the baby killer out in Kansas, acquitted. Acquitted today of murdering babies. There’s got to be a special place in hell for this guy.”

Olbermann was so offended he called for a boycott of businesses that allow a Fox News infection in public.

“Don’t write a letter, don’t make a threat, just get up and explain, if they will not change the channel,” he exclaimed, “leave the place and say calmly why it is you are taking your business elsewhere. If you know a viewer of that channel, show them this tape, or just the tape of the attacks on Dr. Tiller that set the stage for his assassination.

“Fox News Channel will never restrain itself from incitement to murder and terrorism, not until its profits begin to decline, when its growth stops. So not so much a boycott here as a quarantine, because this has got to stop.”

The Tiller assassination? Olbermann insisted that the mere act of denouncing Tiller as a killer of babies – as if he were instead removing tumors – is an invitation to terrorism and murder. This was not a call for moderation by the pro-life movement, but for rhetorical surrender.

The media demanded that pro-lifers stop defining abortion as the ending of a human life. Such a definition was so raw and emotional that it somehow disfigured the “truth” that this is merely a woman-saving health procedure that was not only legal, but commendable.

While they pawed through Twitter looking for anti-Tiller “hate speech,” liberal journalists expressed no distaste for the revoltingly gilded rhetoric in praise of this monster.

In the Washington Times, reporter Julia Duin found the “Very Reverend” Katharine Ragsdale of Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts to express how the “choice” advocates felt.

"This is about the loss of a man who was a saint and a martyr," she said in an interview. "He was a prayerful man who put his life at risk to protect others and died for it.”

Over on National Public Radio, “Talk of the Nation” host Neal Conan was hoping the polls would tilt back to the left: “There was a recent Gallup poll that suggested that opinion on abortion had actually shifted in this country toward the pro-life side, sort of, outside of the context of Kansas in – on the national level – there might be some concern that if the pro-life movement is associated with vigilante tactics like this, again, that could cut in to those gains.”

His guest, Wichita Eagle reporter Dion Lefler, agreed: “Yeah. I think that it could. I mean, you know, every time there's an incident like this, I mean, you will – one prominent pro-life person here in town told me that he thought that if this guy is linked to the movement then it's going to set them back 20 years.”

That’s exactly what the pro-abortion media would love to accomplish. They’re willing to smear the pro-life movement with the mud of the militia movement or al-Qaeda if it will enable their cause. There is no extreme, and no mainstream. There is only a ghastly, murderous blur.

George Tiller was a monster who personally murdered 60,000 babies. May God have mercy on his soul.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Six Deadly Sins asFound the Book of RomansCompiled By Keith Kiper

Surprise-”When desire (lust) has conceived it gives birth to sin, and sin, when is full grown, brings forth death.” James 1:15-Taking a second look at sin when caught off guard. Adamic-”Behold I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.” Psalm 51:5, ”For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 8:23-Everyone inherits this sin from Adam at birth. Carnality-”Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts.”-The inward “bent” to sin before entire sanctification. Death-”But he who blasphemes the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.” Mark 3:29-The Unpardonable sin. Commission-”…Most assuredly, I say unto you, whoever commits sin, is a slave to sin. ”John 8:14-Willfully disobeying God. Omission-”Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:17-This one is self explanatory.